The flexibility over enforcing the EES has now come to an end
Passengers flying to Europe from the United Kingdom have been warned to expect long queues at border control as the flexibility rules for the Entry/Exit System (EES) come to an end.
From Monday, September 7, member states will no longer have the flexibility to temporarily switch off the system, which was implemented widely across Europe this summer with countries including France, Portugal and Greece all temporarily lifting the EES during peak travel periods.
Under the EES, third-country nationals, including Brits, are required to provide biometric data (fingerprints and a photograph) at the EU border which then creates a digital record. This is then valid for three years and replaces passport stamping.
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Subsequent visits should only require one set of biometric data, usually a photograph, and the process should be quick and efficient. But since its rollout in April, the scheme was plagued with issues with many passengers experiencing long queues at the EU border as officials grapple with the additional data collection.
To help ease congestion during the busy summer period, EU member states were given the power to temporarily ease the rules during busy travel periods. But this will no longer be an option from this week.
Those who are due to travel should allow plenty of time to get to the airport and to pass through security. The EES border checks will usually take place prior to boarding so it’s important to get to your gate in plenty of time.
The EES usually takes place at EU airports when you arrive and depart. Although there are a few exceptions: in the UK the EES checks take place at Dover, Folkestone and St Pancras, where you cross the French border.
Several travel groups have now urged the EU to extend the flexible EES rules until 2027, including Ryanair and Airline association IATA.
Thomas Reynaert, IATA’s senior vice president of external affairs, stressed that keeping the choice to suspend EES operations was “absolutely necessary” in the coming months, reports Business Travel News Europe.
Reynaert said: “The summer has highlighted where operational challenges remain. Addressing them now means extending the possibility of partial suspension through the winter season, accelerating pre-registration, investing in infrastructure and staffing, and strengthening co-operation between authorities and industry.”
Luke Petherbridge, director of public affairs at UK travel association ABTA, said that it would also be pushing the EU for an extension of the partial suspension rules governing the use of EES.
He added that the current flexibilities had helped to “ease pressures” at airports over the summer, but there was “still some way to go until EES is fully and consistently operational across all participating countries”.
A European Commission spokesperson said at a media briefing last week that EES had “broadly worked well” over the summer.
They added: “We are in close and constructive contact with those few member states where some adjustments are needed at certain border crossing points.”
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